Dec 14, 2017
CFL / TICATS Schedule Release
, TSN.ca Staff
Didn’t we just finish the Grey Cup?
Christmas came early Thursday across Canada when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Canadian Football League surprised fans from coast to coast with the 2018 preseason and regular season schedules.
For the Ticats the schedule features a couple of tweaks fans will want to be aware of.
First off there are no Sunday games this year. In previous seasons the Ticats have played the Labour Day rematch with Toronto (2016) on a Sunday but not in 2018.
The Tiger-Cats fell int an hole they could not overcome after starting 0-8 last season while playing seven straight games against western division opponents whom the black and gold have struggled against in the last two seasons before June Jones took over as Head Coach on Labour Day 2016.
In 2018 Hamilton will again have to overcome a series of road games to start the season against tough west division opposition including back to back Alberta double dip right off the start between Calgary (week one) and Edmonton (week two).
Due to the early season Western swing Hamilton will finish their last four games against East division opponents. A setup most leagues prefer in order to create meaningful playoff seed deciding games down the stretch.
When Randy Amrbrosie took over as CFL commissioner in 2017 he quickly aired his disapproval of the limited rest some teams were given between games. In an effort to improve this Ambrosie and the Canadian Football League added a third bye week which bumped the entire schedule forwards a week meaning the Preseason gets underway for Hamilton Friday June 1st against the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.
The Tiger-Cats only play on four days rest once landing between Labour Day and the Labour Day rematch in Toronto which makes its return in 2018. A solid advantage considering Edmonton will play on four days rest four times in the 2018 season.
The Tiger-Cats will finish at home against Montreal for the third straight season. The difference being this year the final week is number twenty-one of the year not twenty due to the commissioner’s added bye week.
The table is set and free agency is upon us. The season is almost here, or at least it feels that way today.
